Crusader Peter Samu could be fast-tracked to Wallabies

Pete Samu is poised to accept a contract to play for the Brumbies next season and could play for the Wallabies next month.

Peter Samu packs down against the Waratahs last Saturday. Picture: Getty Images.

Australian-born Crusaders backrower Pete Samu is poised to accept a contract to play for the Brumbies next season and if he signs in time, he could find himself chosen for the Wallabies as early as next month’s three-Test series against Ireland.

And in an unrelated move, former Rebels foundation member Luke Jones is considering a return to Australia and the Melbourne team in advance of the Rugby World Cup next year.

It is understood Australia might seek to invoke the “Brad Shields clause” to play Samu against Ireland while he is still serving out the remaining months of his contract with the Crusaders.

Shields was born in New Zealand but of English parents and thus was eligible to play for England. England coach Eddie Jones wasted no time in selecting him for next month’s England tour of South Africa, despite protests from NZ Rugby.

Begrudgingly, the Kiwis agreed to release Shields for the June internationals even though he will not join Wasps until he has completed his Super Rugby contract with the Hurricanes. In fact, after playing for England against the Springboks, the Wellington No 6 will then return to New Zealand to play out as many as six matches for the Hurricanes before moving to England.

Samu conceivably could find himself travelling a similar path, although there are clear distinctions between him and Shields. Unlike the Hurricanes captain, the 26-year-old is an Australian citizen, one who was born and raised in Melbourne and played his initial senior football in Sydney with Randwick.

He was briefly a member of the Waratahs’ wider training squad during the Michael Foley era until he was invited to join the NZ ITM Cup side, Tasman, in 2014. From there he graduated to the Crusaders in 2016, making his Super Rugby debut against the Blues in Christchurch, and though he is not the most physically dominating of backrowers at 185cm and 102kg, he has become a regular in the side and played at blindside flanker against the Waratahs on Saturday.

Normally Australia would not seek to use Samu until he had finished up with the Crusaders which would have meant that his earliest Test debut might have come during The Rugby Championship. But with Ned Hanigan injuring his knee in that match in Christchurch and now being in doubt for the first Test on June 9 in Brisbane, it is possible, even likely, that Cheika would want to use him against the Six Nations champions, Ireland, next month.

It was thought that his background growing up in Melbourne might have seen him snapped up by the Rebels as soon as Cheika expressed interest in him but The Australian understands that the Brumbies are now at the front of the queue to sign him.

Meanwhile, there is also excitement that Jones, the first forward in Australian rugby history to sign a professional contract while still at school — he debuted for the Western Force as an 18-year-old in 2010 — is considering returning to the Melbourne Rebels in time to win a place in the World Cup squad.

Jones, now 27, seemingly took himself out of the running for Cup selection when he re-signed for a further two years with Bordeaux in 2017 but as long as he signs to play Super Rugby — or World Series Rugby — in Australia in 2020, he can be considered for the tournament in September-October 2019.

There is the possibility that Australia might do a deal with Bordeaux to have him released earlier but with Rugby Australia being short of cash, that’s unlikely to be considered although Rebels coach Dave Wessels did volunteer that Melbourne were looking to recruit him for next season.

If he was released earlier, he could come into calculations for the Wallabies’ Tests this year though the more likely scenario is that he would come into contention for next year’s Rugby Championship.

Although Jones played two of his three Tests as a lock, it’s likely that Cheika would see him as a rival of Samu’s for the No 6 jersey. But unlike the Crusaders’ blindside flanker who jumps only sparingly in the lineout, he would provide the option of a genuine third jumper if the Wallabies again decide to go with two specialist No 7s in David Pocock and Michael Hooper as their No 8 and openside flanker.